


water has no direction (but its own bright grace)

by Dusty_Skyes



Series: Land, Sea, and Sky [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: AU - Link isn't awake, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Revali is thirsty, Revali likes being praised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 05:36:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10430265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusty_Skyes/pseuds/Dusty_Skyes
Summary: It begins when Revali leaves Vah Medoh.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the poem "Water" by Pablo Neruda.

     It begins when Revali leaves Vah Medoh. He relishes in the feeling of the wind on his flight-feathers as he twists in the air and spirals around, laughing freely for the first time in a century. His bow is heavy on his back, a familiar weight that he remembers oh so well. _MiphaMiphaMipha_ giggles at him, sends the faint sensation of her wiggling her webbed fingers in his direction, and then adds the faintest urge of calling him towards her.

_Comecomecome_ , she calls and he banks a turn towards the Zora's Domain, grumbling at her the entire flight there. Vah Ruta blinks blue at him and he spots Mipha waving from the top of the Divine Beast, her trident in her hands. He lands without a sound and cocks a brow, his braids settling against his back.

     “Yes? You called?” he asks, ducking when Mipha scowls at him and reaches out in an attempt to slap him across the chest. “Still too short to slap my beak, I see.” She actually whips her trident around, slamming him over the head with the pole end and he yelps, hands snapping up to cradle the wounded area.

     “Ouch!”

     “Look,” she snaps at him, smacking the butt of her trident against Vah Ruta's surface, “I have issues.”

     Revali shrugs at her. “We all have issues. What's new?” He laughs and leaps back, ducking another smack aimed at his face. “Watch the beak!”

     Mipha snarls at him, teeth far sharper than he remembers, and slams the heel of her foot down on his claws. Revali screeches, hands immediately going down to clutch at his limb. “Abuse!” he shrieks, “this is abuse!”

     “I wouldn't have to do this if you would just _pay attention_!”

     “All right! All right! Goddess save me from stubborn women!”

     “Good,” Mipha says in the voice of the princess that she is and Revali's back straightens, “because I need your assistance. There's something hunting the Zora and we are going to take it out. I need your sharp eyes and archery skills.”

     “Fine with me,” he admits, already removing his bow from his back. “What are we looking for and where is it?”

     She turns and gestures towards the dark water far below them. Revali's sharp eyes spot the faintest shadow gliding below the surface and feeling of something _wrong_ slithers up his spine. “I think it's a mutated water creature. It's been killing my people for almost three weeks now. All we've been finding are mostly ruined corpses. Those who aren't Zora return dead and mutilated on the beach, those who are... Well, we're lucky if we find any pieces.” Mipha frowns a little and then adds, “The thing seems to have some sort of camouflage abilities as well because the Domain guards haven't been able to find it, much less actually take it out.”

     The feathers on Revali's neck fluff upwards even further. “I think it's nearby,” he murmurs. “I can _feel_ it.”

     Mipha twitches slightly, her grip on her trident tightening. “I as well. It's disconcerting.” She watches quietly as Revali draws a shock arrow from the quiver and pulls the string back as silently as he can, sharp gaze locked on the moving shape. The arrow knifes through the air and pierces the liquid below, electricity crackling across the surface of the water, but the shadow is already gone. Revali curses faintly and pulls a second arrow, already in the process of leaping off of Vah Ruta and gliding down to land on solid ground. Mipha lands in the water without a splash, slices through it, and pulls herself up onto the land beside him. “Where did it _go_?” she hisses.

     Revali scowls and carefully edges away from the water. “I don't know and it's making me nervous.”

     She steps away as well, nervously twirling her trident as she moves. Revali shoves his bow onto his back and wings upwards in an attempt to scan the water. Mipha turns in a circle, golden eyes narrowed as she carefully scans the surface of the water. “Do you see anything?” she whispers.

     The Rito's sharp hearing catches her words and he shakes his head sharply, landing beside her without a sound. “I saw nothing,” he murmurs, “and that concerns me.”

     A frown crosses Mipha's face and she gestures towards the Domain. “I worry about my people.”

     “I don't blame you,” Revali admits, shrugging. “Shall we hunt, then?”

     Her smile is dark, full of teeth that are far too sharp to be comfortable. “Yes. Let's.” She slips past him and gestures towards the water. “Stay above the surface and do not let me out of your sight. I will light my bio-luminescence if I have to.”

     Revali hands her a high-powered potion that blocks the effects of shock arrows without a word. “That should last for twenty minutes,” he tells her. “Think we can bait the stupid thing?”

     “We have to if we want to take it out.”

(They'll do it, too, even at the cost of their own lives. It's not the first time they've done something like this before.)

**oOo**

     There's something in the water in the Zora's Domain. Already it has claimed the lives of several Zora, as well as many travelers. Despite how Prince Sidon has increased the guards, it still slips through their grasp, killing and killing and they can't stop it.

     All they find are the bodies left behind on the beaches. Mutilated and ruined so much that they can barely tell what the species is, much less the identity. Sometimes they don't even find the entire body, just mere pieces of whatever poor soul was lost.

     Sidon discretely covers his nose and watches quietly as they burn the remains of the latest victim, a frown on his mouth. “We need to do something about this,” he says miserably. “Before we lose more people.”

     Beside him, Seggin stands miserable. “It slipped right by me,” he whispers, staring at the remains of one of his fellow guards with horror. “I let it kill her.”

     “It's not your fault,” Sidon tells him quietly. “It's gotten around all of us. We just need to get rid of it before it kills anyone else.” He turns to head back into the palace, pausing when something catches his eye. There's a flash of blue across the rooftop, but when he blinks it's gone. A shudder wracks his frame and he narrows his gaze, certain that he had just noted something of importance.

     When dawn comes around the next morning he leads a group of guards into the woods, determined to eliminate whatever it is that is killing his people. “Quiet,” Sidon whispers, dropping down in an attempt to track something, _anything_ , but there's nothing to see. He tightens the grip he has on his trident and steps forward, glancing around cautiously.

     Something feels wrong here; he doesn't know what and it's making him incredibly nervous. There's a shift in the air, the sensation of being watched, and Sidon turns slowly, trying to keep his gaze on everything at once. Around him the guards shift nervously and press their backs against each other.

     A hiss echoes, the water ripples, and then _something_ leaps at them It's dark of color, ripples like the very liquid it has just jumped from, and has teeth like a Zora. It isn't a Zora, that much Sidon knows, but it looks just enough like one that Sidon shrieks and recoils backwards, his bio-luminescence lighting up from sheer surprise. His weapon drops just slightly and the creatures takes its chance, lunging at him with claws like daggers.

     Then it staggers forward with a shriek that's inhuman, a Rito-styled arrow embedded in its back, and clears the land in a bound, vanishing into the dark waters. Not even a second later, a splash echoes and something red darts through the water, chasing after the beast with incredible speed. A Rito lands at the edge of the liquid, drawing and firing a shock arrow in a single breath. Sidon can see it cut through the water, lightning sparking and settling it alight with sparks.

     The Rito glances at them for a moment, scowling, and turns back towards the pool. “Did you get it?” he eventually asks.

     “No,” someone answers, and Sidon's heart just about stops when Mipha—behind him, someone chokes— _Mipha_ , pokes her head out of the water. She's scowling just as darkly, looking furious that whatever it was had gotten away. “Dammit. Revali, I really thought we had it.”

     Revali, as that's apparently the Rito's name—it's a horribly familiar name, too—growls and shoves his bow onto his back. He crosses his arms. “Do you think we should bring Urbosa or Daruk into this?”

     Mipha shakes her head. “Urbosa and Daruk are busy with their Divine Beasts.”

     “And what about me?” Revali demands. “I can't just leave Vah Medoh in the sky.”

     “You can fly up to the stupid thing, Revali. Relax.”

     Finally, finally, _finally_ , Sidon manages to find his tongue, and he croaks, “Mipha?” in a tone that says he's convinced he's dreaming.

     She turns to him and _beams_ , her smile lighting up the area. “Sidon! You've grown so big!”

     “You... You're alive?” He staggers over, drops to his knees, and drags her into a hug, pressing his face into her shoulder. She can feel his form shaking, can hear the sobs that he muffles into her shoulders. Behind her, Revali snickers and she glares at him as best she can.

     “I will hit you again, Revali,” she threatens and smirks when he holds his hands up in defense.

(She's the closest he has to a sister.)

**oOo**

     They make their way back to the Zora's Domain as Sidon refuses to let Mipha out of his sight. As they walk, Zora stop and stare, gasping loudly at the sight of the returned princess. “Father!” Sidon yells as he hurries into the throne room.

     King Dorephan looks up, curious, and asks, “What is it, Sidon?”

     Then Mipha steps into the room and he gasps, eyes going huge. “Father,” she says quietly, and immediately launches forward to hug him.

     “Oh, that's touching,” Revali mutters sarcastically as he steps into the room. For a moment Mipha considers lashing out at him, then remembers that he has no one left except them. She laughs at him and leaps, clearing the room in a series of bounds and bundles him up in a hug that makes the Rito squawk.

     “Aw, don't worry, you have me.”

     “Get off, you crazy Zora princess!” he shrieks and she laughs once more, ruffling what feathers she can reach before he throws her off. Revali squawks again and immediately sets about fixing his braids, vainly preening his feathers.

     King Dorephan, however, looks extremely amused. “You two seem like close friends,” he comments. Sidon grins widely, covering his mouth in an attempt to keep from laughing.

     “Well,” Mipha says smugly, “ _someone_ has to,” and Revali squawks once more, this time in indignation.

     “How _dare_ you?!” he practically shrieks, lunges forward, and steals the decorations on her head. She whirls around with a cry, cursing violently as the Rito flies out of her reach and dangles her crown teasingly. “You want it?” Revali asks slyly. Mipha snarls and hurls her trident; he shrieks and flies upwards, cursing furiously when she rips a few of his tail feathers out. “Horrible Zora!” Revali spits down at her, watching warily as she readies her trident again.

     “Give me those back. _Now._ ”

     With a sniff, he drops the decorations on her head and then wings down to hide behind Sidon. The Zora is huge, easily large enough to hide his smaller form, and Revali laughs as Mipha scowls at him. Prince Sidon looks vaguely alarmed, twisting to stare at the Rito hiding behind him.

(Revali very much wishes that Sidon wasn't quite as good looking. Mipha already wants to kill him enough as it is.)

**oOo**

     That evening Revali slinks out to the training grounds, his bow on his back. He needs to kill something, needs to get get rid of the fury he's feeling from losing the beast, and if shooting targets full of arrows helps, then so be it.

     He's somewhat surprised when he realizes that Sidon is already there, jabbing his trident into a training dummy again and again. Two other dummies have already born the brunt of his fury, their bodies mostly hacked into little pieces, and Revali takes the change to notch an arrow and release it just as Sidon shifts his weight. It whistles past his head-fin and slams into the target, burying itself deep.

     Sidon is not ashamed to admit that he shrieks when the arrow whistles by, twitching violently when it buries itself into the straw of his target. “Revali!”

     Revali smirks at him, laughing smugly as he fires another set of arrows into various targets around the area. Sidon pauses in his own training and watches appreciatively. “You're a very good shot,” he says, looking impressed.

     The Rito preens haughtily, pleased with the praise.

(Oh, Goddess, he thinks later. Mipha will kill him for flirting with Sidon like this.

He tries to not think about the fact that their Knight is still missing.)

 


End file.
